Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Mausers and Military Rifles Mausers with Bell and Carlson Medalist stocks

Does anyone have a Mauser with the Bell and Carlson Medalist on it? I can't find very many good pictures of them. I've got a Charles Daly/Zastava barreled action that needs a stock, and I can't make a decision on which way to go. Boyds or Bell and Carlson. I'd love to see some Bell and Carlson setups if there are any out there!

I've got one in the safe somewhere. On the whole the B&C stock is solid but a little thicker than I'd prefer on MY rifles. A tad heavier too. On the other hand, most of the Boyds stocks, especially the laminates are heavier and have more wood in them than is needed. At least with the wood stock, you can whittle them down some. Boyd's non-laminated stocks are a utility grade wood in my experience and not particularly attractive. If those were the only two options I had, I'd look at the B&C.

I can attest to the fact they stand up to 458 recoil

Thanks--I had narrowed it down to the nutmeg laminate, fleur de lis checkering, black fore end tip, and decelerator pad. I agree about the weight, as I've got one of their Prairie Hunter stocks on my M77.

This is an FN 338-06 that I've posted before. I picked it up here on the Classifieds, reworked the bedding and painted it.

My gunsmith thinks it's an early B&C, and I tend to agree. It is a bit thick but works well. The B&C forearms aren't as stiff as McM, so I had to leave a bigger gap to free float.

They are plenty strong and if this was a .458 WM, I'd probably have Steel Bedded the lug and action. As it is, std. Acraglass should be sufficient.

DF

Looks good, like it will handle anything you could throw at it. Thanks for posting!

So far, it has...

DF

I dropped my FN 9.3x62 into one and took it to Africa in 2002. I did not bed it and the combo was accurate.

I have a 1948 F.I. FN in a Medalist. The barrel is very heavy for a sporter on that one. Total weight with a 3-9 is about 9 3/4 pounds IIRC, but it's a fine shooter.

I mistakenly ordered the FN commercial/Zastava stock for rifles with a hinged floorplate and had to hog out a good bit of the bedding block for the plunger that holds the slide-off version. Also had to fill the relief cut for the side safety, since I'm still running the wing. Had to do a lot of sanding to float that stout barrel too. I bedded the shank. Used stone-texture paint which gives a good grip and no shine. Ain't pretty, though I think it's maybe a bit comelier than Mr. Phil's .458, not a high bar!

The Boyds can be whittled down, but the Medalist is easy to patch and paint when you need to hack on it for fit; a toss-up I guess.

Have both Boyds laminated and older B&C, like both as utilitarian good value. Both are heavier than other options. Boyds laminated should be slimmed down. Hogue overmolded stocks with the bedding block are better drop-ins IMHO.

Thank you for weighing in--I was seriously considering the Hogue w/ full bedding block as well, but I just like the lines of either the Boyd's or the B&C. If my crystal ball is correct, my A.D.D. will make me get both as I decide. Then I'll have to find another gun to stick in whatever stock I don't use (probably a Mauser in 9.3x62 since I was reading the 9.3 in Alaska thread.) It's a vicious cycle.........

I had a bell and Carlson stock I broke, totally my fault.

The replaced it no questions asked.

I love bell and Carlson.

I've had a couple of them but not on Mausers. The geometry is just about perfect for me, but as others have noted, they're heavy. I'd consider one for cartridges that kick harder than the 30-06.


Okie John

Custom Mark X .376 Steyr with dipped Medalist

What do these things weigh, roughly?

Weighed mine last night and was surprised to read 2.3 lbs. Felt like more. Perhaps its girthy proportions lead me to believe it weighed more than it did.

Not sure what it is but I don't think that is a B&C stock. Too streamline and the wrong checkering pattern, looks to be something nicer to me. Pacific Research maybe.

Not that a B&C Medalist isn't a nice stock.

Kent

Looks like it might be their carbelite stock?

All of those that I remember had the 4 point checkering, not sure I can even remember a Carblite with a cheek piece.